The Sound of a Walk in the Woods
by Newtons1Law
Summary: What if, when Erik left Charles that day at the beach, he took more than just Charles' heart with him? What if he took an unborn child as well? Eleven years pass and when Hank, Charles, Peter and Wolverine come to break Erik out of prison, there's a young boy with him. A little boy who looks far too similar to Charles. (MPreg, Takes place during the events of X-Men: DOFP)
1. Chapter 1

_**"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." ~The Talmud**_

He gave birth alone and locked in a prison cell.

It only took a few months on the run and in a holding cell for Erik to realize what his mutation had endowed him with. His sleeping with Charles, coupled with his mutation had allowed him something that he never thought was possible. It allowed him to get pregnant and carry a child to term. But he didn't know if it would make it possible for him to give birth vaginally. He got his answer when he woke up in a cold sweat one night. He was in immense pain and he couldn't explain why. At least not until a sticky wetness burst from between his legs. His heart practically stopped, then and there. He was moaning deeply as he wrapped his arms around his middle. Erik desperately wanted to scream for help, but he doubted anyone that could hear him. And those that were close enough to hear him...probably didn't care enough about his well-being to do anything. The mutant huffed and whined as he writhed in pain on the bed. He'd never been in so much pain in his life, and yet he had lived through so much already.

Erik roughly kicked the thin blankets off his bed, exposing just his body and the stained white sheets beneath him. He was gasping and panting, already exhausted from the simple exertion. If that wasn't enough, the lack of anything metal in the prison cell was bothering him greatly. It felt like a gaping hole opened up in his chest, every time there was nothing metal around for him to connect with. He reached to metal for safety, for comfort. Two things that he desperately needed when he was laying in an unfamiliar bed, giving birth all alone. He wished for his mother, for his sister and his father. But most of all, he wished for Charles. He desperately missed the gentle and calming presence of the telepath in his mind. The man provided a security, a level of compassion that Erik was sure he didn't deserve anymore. The mutant let out a hoarse cry as the pain in his belly receded and pulsed as if he was floating on the waves of the ocean at high tide. The pained Jewish man gave a deep bodily groan that turned into a shriek of agony, only muffled by the hem of his shirt that he'd roughly crammed into his mouth. Tears prickled in his tightly clenched eyes as another wave of pain took his breath away from him by force. He couldn't breathe, he was in terrible pain and he couldn't breathe.

The wet and salty tears that had prickled in his eyes, broke free and everything became blurry as he tried to focus on a single spot on the wall. An idea that soon seemed too far-fetched with the way that the walls seemed to shimmy and move around him. He wanted Charles so badly. Then he whimpered in pain, as there was a funnel of pressure and it was as if the mutant's insides were being roughly crammed down a small tube the meager size of a thumbnail. Forgetting the useless fabric clenched in his teeth, the man let out a full-force scream that seemed to vibrate the very cell itself. Erik couldn't dispel the very real fear that he was dying as he tried to blink his sticky brown hair out of his eyes, but it was held down to his forehead by so much sweat and blood, that it clearly didn't want to move anytime soon. The mutant wailed in pain as another heavy contraction ripped through his frame. It felt as though something was being torn away from him, there was blood...so much blood. It seemed to coat everything, his hands, his shirt, even the white sheets underneath him were saturated with his own crimson blood. It looked like a murder had taken place.

Finally with a final-sounding screech on his part, the unrelenting pressure seemed to release him and Erik felt something leave the confines of his body. Something that had been struggling to fight it's way out. With apprehension clenching his belly, the mutant lifted himself up and into a semi-sitting position on his elbows so he could look down between his legs. Amid the mass of the knotted and matted once-white sheets...lay a newborn baby boy covered in Erik's blood. With tender loving hands that Erik didn't know he possessed, he reached down with shaking and blood-stained hands to grasp the newborn baby tightly and lift him upwards. Erik had never delivered a baby before, but he knew enough to know that he had to cut the cord that spiraled purple, veiny and as thick as his wrist into the silent baby's belly. But there was nothing he could do that with, no sharp objects were allowed even close to his cell. So he used his teeth to sever his newborn's umbilical cord. It only took two deep and precise bites for the cord to give out and for the two severed halves to fall limply to the bloody bed-clothes below.

Instantly the severed cord began to spurt even more blood and Erik panicked, desperately pinching both ends to stop the immense torrent of his and the baby's blood. He franticly looked for something to tie it off with, before settling on ripping off a strip of cloth from his sleeve. The mutant pursed his lips as he wrapped it tight to stop the flow of blood from his newborn's umbilical cord. The blood began to slow and then finally stopped to Erik's immense relief. Then his son began to cry.

Erik quickly pulled the naked and slick newborn to his chest. The little boy was so small, so much tinier than several other babies that he'd seen before. The Jewish man took a moment to study the newborn who was his own son. The baby's mouth was slightly agape and he was wriggling, little toothless gums rooting against Erik's chest. The mutant knew what the child wanted and he honestly wondered if it was something in which he could give. He ran a shaking hand across the baby's tiny head and mussed the newborn's hair that was still so dark with blood and amniotic-fluid that it was impossible to tell the color. The child had yet to open his eyes so that was out of the question as well, and yet he was already the most beautiful thing that Erik had ever seen. Charles excluded of course. The pale-faced man pressed a gentle kiss to his baby's forehead, before he felt another gush and there was a bloody placenta sitting between his legs. It was a bloody blue-gray mass and Erik's labor-addled brain didn't even process that bit of information. He just collapsed back on his one free elbow, newborn still clutched in his arm. He didn't realize how near he was to passing out, until his vision began to swim around him once more.

The baby boy on his chest was mewling, and had managed to latch onto Erik's left nipple. The mutant tried to remember through the haze of his mind, when he'd pulled down his shirt for the baby to nurse. Apparently Erik could provide sustenance for his baby. That was when they came, his cell guards. They had called for an emergency physician. Erik's baby was swept from his arms and the mutant himself was lifted onto a gurney. The world around him seemed to twirl sickeningly before everything around him grew dark.

The next time Erik woke up, he was back in his cell and was lying on his frameless bed. Only then, there was also a frameless crib on the other side of the room. The mutant wasted no time pushing himself up to totter on jelly-like legs and wobble towards the crib, towards his baby. Some kind soul had cleaned and swaddled the baby boy. Leaving Erik with several hundreds of diapers, blankets, stuffed animals and the like. The mutant would be thankful for that later, but he was more focused on Charles' piercing blue eyes blinking up at him from his newborn son. The child looked far more like Charles than he did Erik. He had the telepath's dark hair, blue eyes and ivory skin. He even had the same ears and nose as the man that Erik loved. It made him love the newborn all the more. He named the boy then, a strong name. He named the boy 'Edie', after his grandmother that he would never meet and 'Charles' after the other father that didn't know the child existed. That was how young Edie Charles Lehnsherr, got his name.

_**-Nearly eleven years later, (Edie is ten)-**_

Edie Charles Lehnsherr's parents both experienced terrible things in their respective lives. His Abba had lived through the Holocaust and lost everything he knew. While his other father, a man named Charles Xavier that he'd never met, had suffered the pain of being the only mutant in his family and the subsequent neglect that followed, from those who were intended to love him the most. So it was only fate that Edie was born an Empath and a very strong one at that. His first memory was being immersed in his Abba's pain. It was like a dark shadow that passed over everything around him. It was only when Edie was old enough to understand, that he manipulated his father's emotions for the first time. Making them into happy feelings, feelings of love and comfort that made their time locked up together, more bearable. Neither of them ever left the cell. But that didn't stop Edie from dreaming of the outside world. He was born in that cell, under artificial light and eating food that tasted like plastic. Erik wanted more for his son, he didn't want for the boy to spend his entire life caged up like an animal. For Pete's sake, the child had never even seen sunlight before!

But it was to no avail. The boy was never allowed outside and the days, weeks and years all blurred together. Erik taught his child to read, he taught the boy to speak German, English, Polish, Hebrew and French. He told Edie stories of his own childhood, he told him about his other father, about the Grandparents and Aunt that he would never get to meet. He wanted the little boy to understand just how much Erik loved him. What the mutant father didn't know was that Edie knew. He had always known, he felt it. He was an Empath, through and through. And in the confinement that he was nurtured in, his powers only grew. Edie learned to shield himself from the feelings of others, and learned to only manipulate emotions when it was needed. He truly was Charles' son.

It was on a day, much like any other, when everything changed. Edie had been reading the Torah in the corner of their cell and Erik was just dozing in his frameless bed, when a plastic tray of food slid down from a slot above them on the roof of their cell. But this time, the tray had a hastily scrawled note on the top of it. 'Mind The Glass'. It said, in big bold lettering that Edie had never seen before. He opened up his shield, just a crack to feel the thrum of excitement that pounded from above them, where the guard usually stood. Edie looked up from the pages he had read hundreds of times. Only to see a boy, just a teenager really, with flashy silver-gray hair dressed in a guard's uniform. He gave both Edie and his father a wide grin as he placed both of his hands, flat on the glass. It wasn't long, scarcely a few second before the glass began to shake as if in the throes of a seizure. Erik threw himself forwards to yank his son's thin body into his as the glass shattered into thousands of pieces that rained down all around them.

That was when the heavy doors that admitted the guards, closed slowly and the sirens sounded from above them all. It provoked the sliver-haired boy to whip his head around in alarm as Edie just gaped upwards like a fish out of water. Erik just hopped upwards, wrapping his arms around the framework that had once been the roof of their cell and pulling himself out like a spider-monkey. Then he turned around and kneeled down, reaching out a hand to pull Edie out with him. But the ten year old shook his head vehemently, whimpering. He'd never left the cell before in his life. It was everything that he'd ever known, the little boy was petrified. The sliver-haired just furrowed his brows in confusion as Erik's gaze softened and he spoke in a crooning voice that he only used when Edie was hurt, sad or scared.

"Come now, Bärchen. There's nothing to fear."

Edie whimpered softly, but raised a hand and allowed his Abba to lift him up and scoop him up just like he had when Edie was a wee toddler. Once Erik was safely on solid ground he set Edie on his own two feet and the little boy looked around the room curiously. It was wondrous to see what it was like outside of the tiny cell. Everything was so very different. But he didn't have time to enjoy any of it, because his Abba was speaking in a hurried tone to the silver-haired boy while he kept a heavy hand on Edie's shoulder. Still too scared to let his son roam too far from him.

"In three seconds those doors are going to open and twenty guards will be here to shoot us."

Erik growled lowly, pressing Edie even closer to his side. The little boy was so attuned to his Abba's feelings, that he knew the man was never going to let anything touch him. But instead of being alarmed, the silver-haired boy did something amazing. He seemed to disappear for a moment, before reappearing beside them. Edie was gaping in amazement, while Erik just raised a questioning eyebrow. The young silver-haired boy then grasped Erik's head with one hand, pulling the older man to his side and Edie's head with the other hand, doing the same to the young boy. There was an excited and reckless grin on the teen's face as he stared at the door and answered Erik's gruff question.

"I know, that's what I'm waiting for!"

"Why are you grabbing onto our heads?"

That question came from a startled Edie, as he turned his head slightly to blink up at the boy with a pair of strangely familiar eyes. The nameless silver-haired boy looked down at the little boy in confusion, but then grinned at the kid and released his head for a moment to muss the little boy's hair. "Well kiddo, I'm making sure you and Erik don't get whip-lash. Who are you anyway? Nobody ever mentioned a kid." The teen mused in something akin to confusion, as he secured his hand back on Edie's head. The young boy somehow found his hand into the teen's as he whispered.

"I'm Edie Lehnsherr, it's nice to meet you."

"Peter Maximoff, so you're Erik's son then. Hold on tight kiddo, try to keep your eyes closed." The silver-haired boy grunted as he secured his hold on both Edie and Erik. The ten year old closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Then he felt a tugging sensation behind his navel and suddenly they were flying through the air at the speed of light. Everything around them blurred together and Edie felt his stomach fly up to his throat. He tried to scream, but the sound was stolen from him. Then suddenly, everything was back in it's place and Edie's head was swimming. He blinked open his startlingly blue eyes, only to find that they were in a metal elevator. Something he had only read about in books. He swallowed down his nausea and quickly ran his hands over the cold metal interior of the elevator. He could feel the intense joy that emanated from his Abba, it was the feeling that his father got whenever the man was around metal. Edie watched as his father panted and swallowed roughly. Erik seemed to be more nauseated than his son. So without even thinking about it, the boy sent calming feelings towards his Abba.

The silver-haired boy seemed to disappear for a moment, before reappearing dressed differently than before. Edie looked at him in surprise, but Peter just seemed bored that the elevator was taking too long. Then when the teen in question saw the nauseated look on Erik's face, he felt the need to say something comforting, so he did. "Don't worry, it'll pass. It happens with everyone. So, you must have done something serious to end up here, what'd you do man? What'd you do, man?!" Edie had to stifle a laugh as his Abba sent an annoyed look towards the teen, all for attempting to be comforting and helpful. Finally the older mutant growled out his answer.

"For killing the president...when really, the only thing I'm guilty of is fighting for people like us. Like you, me and Edie."

The teen seemed taken aback for a moment, blinking at the older man in surprise as he mouthed 'Wow' at Edie. Erik reached out a hand and pulled Edie closer to him. The little boy was terrified, practically quivering in fear as he buried his face in his Abba's hip. Only stirred out by another question from the silver-haired teenager beside them. "So you're a mutant too, huh kid? What can you do? Walk through walls? Fly? Spilt-atoms? Can you move metal like your Dad? Are you a speedster like me? Telepath?" Edie blinked in surprise at Peter's rapid-fire questions. Was everything that Peter did, on full speed? That must make life pretty tiring after a while and it made Edie feel sorry for the kid only a few years older than him.

"Nothing so fantastic, I'm an Empath. I can heal, manipulate, and sense emotions."

From the way Peter's eyes widened comically moments later, you'd think he'd just said that he could grow a second head. But before the teen could say or do anything, the elevator doors opened to a room where water was falling from the sky. Edie looked around in amazement as a man came into his line of sight. The man had long uncut brown curls and a scraggly beard, but his eyes were what made Edie gasp audibly. The man had the same startlingly blue eyes as Edie. There was a sickening sensation filling the child's belly as he heard his Abba speak, confirming the child's greatest fears. This man was Charles Xavier, his other father.

"Charles?"

His Abba's voice was so pained, so full of shock and relief that the next move the man made was utterly confusing to the young Empath. Charles Xavier made the same sound a wounded animal might make as he pulled a closed fist backwards and it made a satisfying crack as it connected with his Abba's jaw. The metal-controlling mutant was sent tumbling limply to the floor and Peter yanked Edie out of the way, just in time. Erik tasted the blood in his mouth as Charles winced and massaged his hand. Edie gasped in shock and went to kneel beside his father, but Peter wouldn't let the child move from his side. In fact, the teen was scowling as he looked at Charles, Erik and the man standing beside Charles with horned black hair.

"Hey guys, cool it alright! The poor kid almost got squashed over here!"

Charles looked up in surprise and his eyes focused on the little boy under Peter's arm. He couldn't see the child's face, but the boy was obviously too young to be in jail with Erik. At least, not without the older mutant being at fault for it. Even Logan was stunned as Charles reached out towards the boy, the child was obviously afraid. But it was the cold tone of Erik's voice that stilled his comforting hand.

"It's nice to see you too old friend, but do not touch my son."

Charles swung back around with a low growl and clenched his fists again. His son? Erik didn't have a son! Judging from the boy's size, he was probably nine or ten years old. That's when the horrifying conclusion came to Charles' mind. Raven. Erik had sired a child with Raven. With an animalistic screech, Charles seized Erik by the throat. Throwing the larger mutant against the far right wall of the elevator. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he hissed in a broken and betrayed sounding voice. "You had a child with Raven?! With my little sister!? You bastard!" But Erik just looked at him in confusion. No, he had never slept with Raven in his life, she was Charles' sister! He loved Charles, not Raven!

"Charles I would never...!"

"Then who's is he, Erik?! Children don't appear out of nowhere!"

Erik was pale, dripping wet from the sprinklers above as Charles' hand tightened around his throat. Edie was crying, reaching out to his Abba desperately. But Peter was holding him safely out of Charles' reach. "Look at him, Charles. He is not Raven's son." Charles turned his head slowly towards the young boy, the child was crying. He had dark curls framing his pallid, child-like face. He had a button nose, lightly dusted with freckles and a determinedly set jaw. But Charles noticed none of that. Because he couldn't tear himself away from the child's eyes. They were startlingly blue and Charles had seen them in the mirror every day since he was a baby. They were his eyes on the little boy's face. Charles released his hold on Erik's neck and sunk to his knees, never breaking eye-contact with the little boy. Until finally he sobbed out a broken...

"Oh, God."


	2. Chapter 2

**_"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." _**

**_― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross_**

Peter finally released his hold on the child and Edie hurried to his Abba's side. Then, when he saw to it that the metal-controlling mutant was alright, he turned to his other father. The man called Charles Xavier that he'd heard stories about since he was old enough to understand them. The feelings that were emanating from the man were stifling. There was a crushing guilt, a hint of betrayal, and a deep need for acceptance. None of the feelings were obvious to the human eye, but Edie didn't need to use his eyes. He just needed for he man to stop feeling in such a way. His shield was cracking from the sheer force of the man's emotions, all directed towards him and his Abba. So Edie did the only logical thing, he would need to use his 'echoes'. Echoes as Edie knew them, were his own emotions and the memories tied in with them. He wasn't as experienced in sending echoes, but he knew in the pit of his stomach, that Charles needed to see them. He needed to see Edie's echoes. So the ten year old sunk down to his knees and crawled towards the Telepath on all fours. Charles was still staring at Edie, like he was just a second away from disappearing. But the Empath ignored the expression and situated himself in Charles' lap. He reached forwards with tiny hands to grasp either side of the Telepath's face.

Charles looked at the boy as if he were doing something amazing, as the child leaned forwards to rest his forehead against his other father's. Peter and Logan stared at the father and son pair as Erik just sighed knowingly. He'd been on the receiving end of Edie's echoes more than once. Edie closed his eyes as Charles threw his open and gasped roughly. The images that were flooding the Telepath's brain were wondrous. He saw Edie's first smile and the sheer, overpowering happiness that was behind it. He felt like his heart was beating out of his chest as he watched Edie toddling towards Erik, arms outstretched and fingers so close to touching. He could hear Edie's first sputtering cry and the blood rushing in his veins, then when Erik's blood-stained face came into view, he felt the crushing and overwhelming love that was directed towards the metal-wielding mutant. Charles was crying, then laughing as the echoes played in his mind. It hurt, it hurt so much. But it was also the most beautiful thing that the professor had ever seen.

Edie was crying as well, it hurt to be flooding Charles' mind with so many echoes. Especially because of the fact that for every good emotion that entered the Telepath's mind, a bad one entered Edie's. It was the law of equivalent exchange. The scales always have to balance out, no matter what. It was what ultimately caused Edie to break their connection. To leave his other father with a gaping mouth and an expression akin to relief. Edie then threw his arms around the man and buried his face in his neck. But the hug only lasted a few moments because Edie had to whisper in his father's ear.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you. I promise I'll explain later, but we need to get out of here before we're caught."

Charles nodded his consent, getting to his feet once again as Erik walked forwards without being told, to wrap his arms under his child's armpits and knobby-knees and lift Edie into a gentle bridal carry. He knew that after sending that many echoes, the child would barely be able to stay awake on his own, let alone walk or run. His suspicion was confirmed by the fact that the little boy leaned against him with relief and the way that the child's eyelids dropped and his body sagged. Erik knew from the look that appeared on Charles' face that the Telepath was going to ask why Edie looked half-dead. But before anyone could do anything, several guards burst through the doors at the end of the room. They were yelling and pointing guns at the mutants in the room. Edie could've stopped them, he could've made them leave by instilling a new emotion in their minds. But he could barely keep his eyes open, let alone send out more emotions.

"Nobody move! Hold it right there!"

The guards swarmed the room, guns raised as Charles and Erik backed up, shoulder to shoulder. Wolverine and Peter took a position in front as Erik looked at Charles, uninterestedly. He knew that even if Edie was exhausted and depleted of his power, that Charles could always freeze them and they'd all be alright. But when the Telepath did nothing, Erik prompted him with a sigh. "Charles." But nothing happened, the Telepath only had a stifled and pained look on his face as Edie blinked at his other father in confusion. Feelings of guilt and sadness were emanating from the man in waves. But Erik could feel that, he just looked at Charles sharply, begging him to do something...anything!

"Charles, freeze them!"

"I can't!" The Telepath growled as the cocked guns neared ever closer. Then all the metal in the room began to shake as Erik sent out his power. Edie's eyes widened as he gaped at his Abba. The guards looked around in confusion as metal things began to fly off the walls and vibrate all around them. Knives floating off of tables, cookware sent tumbling through the air. Nothing metal was safe from Erik's pull. Suddenly instead of just floating upwards like they'd been doing, they shot upwards just as bullets erupted from the guns of the guards. Charles screamed and dove for Erik, and their child resting in his arms. Wolverine's claws erupted from his fists, and Peter was sent zooming around the walls. He bounced around everywhere, just a blur as far as anyone could see. Then the bullets hit the wall behind them, and all the guards were sent to their own demise. Hitting each other in the head, falling over, punching themselves in the face and the like. Peter just smiled and waved at them from across the room.

Erik then proceeded to look at Charles with an unreadable look and stumble out of the room, his son clasped tightly in his arms. By the time all five of them had gotten up to the main floor. Hank was waiting for them outside with a 'borrowed' car. Erik didn't even bother with a grunt of hello as he hustled himself into the car, his gangly son would rest on his lap. The young boy was already half passed-out. Charles scooted in after Erik and Wolverine got in the front seat with Hank. At first the genius didn't notice the car's fifth passenger, at least not until Charles asked about him. Hank stopped the car then and there, whipping his head around to see the little boy in Erik's lap. The child's hazy blue eyes were terribly familiar and the genius looked at Charles with a stricken look on his face.

"Charles, is he...?"

"Yes Hank, he is."

"Oh...wow." The mutant genius blinked for a moment, before restarting the car and sending them racing down the road, no doubt that there would be several cars picking up the chase behind them. They had just broken a pair of Federal Prisoners...out of prison! Edie could feel the excitement and surprise that flowed out from the man named Hank. He seemed to be friends with Charles. But that was all he knew because exhaustion finally claimed him and he was lost to the world in his Abba's embrace.

-**_TimeSkip_**-

The next thing he was aware of was his Abba carrying him onto a plane, Edie was whimpering under his breath and was desperately trying to fortify his shield again. The man called Logan or Wolverine was terrible to be around. It was nothing that the man had done to them per say, it was the suffering that clung to him like fog to the ground. Out of all the emotions that Edie hated, suffering had to be at the very top of the list. It was different from most of the emotions he felt on a daily basis. Mostly because true suffering was rare for an Empath to feel. Edie felt increasing overwhelmed because everyone on the plane with him had experienced true suffering. They had left Peter behind when they boarded, therefore taking away Edie's only island of happiness in a sea of pain. It didn't help that when a person experiences true suffering, it doesn't go away. It forever clings to them as a reminder, as a memory. The man called Logan had experienced true suffering more than once and it was making Edie's head spin, tears prickling in the corners of his blue eyes. His Abba laid him gently on the only couch in the plane, allowing the little boy to curl in on himself. Erik had lived with his son long enough to know that Edie was trying to block the emotions that assaulted him from every direction.

The metal-wielder left his son alone for a moment, only to reach for a the newspaper sitting on one of the many tables in the plane. But the moment his calloused fingers touched the papers, Logan leaned forwards and plunged his bone-like claws into it. Nearly taking off Erik's fingers as he did so. The man looked at Erik with such distain and malice, that he just let go of the paper and went to go sit by his son. But not before muttering a parting comment under his breathe.

"Just imagine if they were metal."

Charles and Hank slowly boarded the plane as Erik gently lifted his son's head into his lap. He slowly ran his calloused fingers through the little boy's dark hair. It was an action he'd done many times in the child's life, only as a gesture of comfort and the upmost security. He loved his son, and he made sure the boy was dozing off again, before he turned back to Logan. The horn-haired man was staring at him, all the while nursing a drink and reading the paper that Erik had wanted to read. But he didn't want to make any more enemies so he just sighed and grunted an acknowledgement of the man's presence. "So where'd they dig you up?" The man slowly put down the paper and leaned forwards slightly, eyebrows raised as he spoke in a gravelly and hushed voice.

"You're going to find this hard to believe, but you sent me. You and Charles, from the future."

When Erik stared at the man as if he'd just started speaking Chinese, it was totally valid. He even had to stifle the urge to shake Edie awake and ask the little boy if Logan was telling the truth. Even if he didn't, the child still blinked open his eyes sleepily and nodded. Confirming the fact that the strange clawed man was telling the truth. Emotions may be fickle and unwieldy, but they never lie. Erik didn't ask anymore questions after than, he simply began humming under his breath to lull Edie back to sleep. Nobody else was speaking anyway, so he doubted that they would mind. In fact, no words were spoke until they were already in the air and the flight underway. Charles was staring at Erik and the child in his lap, with uncertainty and hurt. Logan was looking up every few moments to make sure a fight didn't break out when there was a kid in Erik's lap and they were more than a thousand feet above the ground. Eventually though, Erik couldn't take the silence anymore so he spoke to Charles.

"How did you lose them?"

The both knew what Erik was referring too. His powers. The telepathic powers that made Charles who he was. The telepathic powers that had allowed their child to be given a mutant gene as well. Even though he had asked the question, Erik wasn't ready for the answer that came from Charles' lips. "The treatment for my spine effects my DNA." Erik just blinked solemnly and confused at the man he had once loved. That man wasn't there anymore. The Charles in front of him was broken and mended back together, terribly. Erik couldn't help but think that he was responsible for it, as he spoke.

"You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?"

"I sacrificed my powers so that I could slee..." Charles broke off mid-sentence, but Erik knew what he was going to say. He couldn't sleep with all the voices in his head. The war had been cruel to Edie as well. He wished that he could tell Charles about all the times he'd had to hold Edie when he'd woke up in the middle of the night to the little boy's screams. The suffering, pain, the tears and the sadness. It came to Edie from every direction. There was no way out for him. No way out for Charles or for Edie. Erik knew then, why Charles looked so broken. Because the suffering he felt inside, was stronger than the suffering that came from the outside. It was enough to break any man and Erik knew that. He just never thought it would break someone like Charles. But the former-Telepath kept talking, as if talking could make the pain go away. "What do you know of it?" Charles stammered, his usually steady voice was cracking.

"I've lost my fair share."

"Ha! Dry your eyes, Erik. It doesn't justify what you've done."

"You have no idea what I've done." Erik's voice grew cold and hostile at the tone of Charles' own voice. His hands tightened around his child and the little boy blinked up at him. He tried to send calming thoughts to both Erik and Charles, but they weren't accepted. Edie curled his fists into his Abba's shirt but that didn't stop the man from stiffening and looking hostile. Especially not when Charles spoke again, his voice riddled with pain and suffering. "I know you took the things that mean the most to me." Charles didn't look at Edie as he spoke, but the little boy knew that he was part of the equation, as was his Abba who was slowly getting angrier by the second. Hank was looking back at them nervously and Logan was looking at them disinterestedly as Erik snarled, still clinging to his son like Edie was a lifeline.

"Well maybe you should've fought harder for them!"

"If you want to fight, Erik...I will give you a fight!" Charles snarled as he leapt to his feet. Edie was holding his Abba back as Logan yelled at Charles to sit down. But the metal-wielder simply pried off his child. Leaving Edie to sit on the couch alone, blue eyes wide and dilated. Erik faced Charles head on and when Logan yelled at them to stop. Erik looked at him and ordered him to let Charles come. He'd experienced terrible things in his life, more so than an angry Charles. He knew that the former-Telepath wouldn't hurt him. He couldn't. Not without hurting himself and Edie as well. To say that Erik was surprised when Charles darted towards him and grabbed him by his shoulders was an understatement. The man was crying, tears coursing down his cheeks as he screamed at Erik.

"You abandoned me! You took her away and you abandoned me! My own son Erik! You took my own child away from me! To grow up in a jail cell?! I don't even know his name, Erik! My own son's name!"

Charles' words hurt. But not as much as the look on Edie's face, the child was sobbing silently. If from the injustice of it all or from the pounding emotions in the room, Erik would never know as he shoved Charles away from him and almost on top of Edie as he spoke. The ten year old was shaking as he looked at Charles beside him and his father. Erik was shaking, the whole plane was rocking and shaking as the metal-wielder looked at Charles with malice and true pain darkening his eyes.

"Angel...Azazel...Banshee...Emma...mutant brothers and sisters, all dead. Countless others, experimented on...butchered. Where were you, Charles? You weren't with me! You weren't in that cell with me! I was alone! I gave birth to Edie...alone and afraid that I was going to die! Where were you, Charles? We were supposed to protect them! We were supposed to protect each other! Where were you when your own people needed you? When I needed you? When Edie needed you? You and Hank...pretending to be something you're not! You abandoned your son, Charles! You abandoned me!...

You abandoned us all!"


	3. Chapter 3

**_"For there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one's own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes."_**

**_― Milan Kundera _**

Edie smushed his face close to one of the glass windows on the side of the plane. Things had calmed down after his Abba's exclamation, but Charles still hadn't said a word to either of them. The ten year old Empath was finally awake and alert enough to be excited about the outside world. He stared at the darkness outside, excitement practically pulsing from the child in waves. Edie knew that he was projecting again, but he couldn't bring himself to care in the slightest. The experience of seeing the stars in the night sky was a common occurrence for most. They just looked up and didn't even realize the wonder and magic of what they were seeing above them. The Empath knew what stars were of course, they were just massive, luminous spheres of plasma held together by their own gravitational pulls. But still, when he looked up at the night sky for the first time. He truly felt like it was magic. The boy didn't even want to blink, for the fear of missing a second that could be spent gazing at the magnificent sight in front of him. He'd read a book on constellations once, it had even had some pretty graphic images, but nothing could compare to the sight of seeing it with his own eyes.

He spent at least an hour or two, just sitting on his knees and watching out the window. He would mentally map out the constellations that he knew the names of. He saw the Big and Little Dippers, Canis Major and Canis Minor, they were the big dog and the little dog, forever together in the night sky. Edie practically shook in delight as his eyes traced out the constellation of Hercules. Hercules was a hero, truly fitting of a place in the night sky. His Abba had told him the story once, of the powerful young warrior. He was considered to be the greatest of all heroes, and was even both Greek and Roman. The legendary hero was supposed to be the son of Zeus; immortal, yet forever challenged by Hera, his step-mother, because of the circumstances of his birth. He was forced to embark on many terrible tasks, all that could've killed him, such as killing a lion with a hide that could not be punctured or destroying the many headed Hydra or cleaning out nasty stables, fighting birds with knife-like feathers, capturing a bull that breathed fire, taming horses that ate flesh, stealing cattle from monsters, warring against wicked dragons, stealing a three-headed dog from Hades and even loosing the love of his life. Still, no matter how many struggles Hercules faced, the hero remained true to himself till the very end. That was how he got his place in the night sky, sword raised and kneeling on one knee.

The little boy finally tore his eyes away from the sky to look at his Abba next to him, he wanted to share the sight with the older man. For him to feel exactly what Edie was feeling at that moment. So the child reached out and shook his Abba's arm, prompting the German man to look at him, a question burning in his eyes and ready on his lips. But before his Abba could say anything, the boy pointed outside the window and exclaimed with child-like wonder.

"Look Abba, stars! Real stars! They didn't look so pretty in my books."

The child spoke reverently and the corners of Erik's mouth tugged his stubbornly set lips into a wide smile. He just found it so fascinating that the little boy could act so reserved and mature most of the time, but still enjoyed things that other children his age, wouldn't even care about. Charles and Logan were staring at the Empath in surprise, but Erik just wrapped his boy into a hug. Murmuring just sweet nothings into the child's ear. His sweet nothings usually jumped around in the language department. Considering all the languages that he and Edie knew.

"I know Bärchen, I know."

"You're kidding, right? What kid hasn't seen stars before?" Logan asked, his tone of voice was stiff and confused. As if he didn't like the feeling of not knowing and understanding something. Both Edie and Erik turned towards the clawed man, Edie with embarrassment and Erik with a venomous glare on his face. Before Edie could say anything, or perhaps apologize, Erik was pulling his son closer to him and pressing his face into the child's soft dark hair. The glare at Logan was still in place as he snarled at the man. "A child who's spent his entire life in a prison cell." The clawed man grew silent after that, still raising an eyebrow in confusion as he leaned forwards slightly to grab his drink and sip from it. While Logan got even more drunk, Erik looked at Charles from across the plane. He was nursing a drink as well and there was a scowl on a face that Erik thought would never hold one. He thought back to what Charles had screamed at him, what he'd screamed about Edie. The Telepath was right in a way, he deserve to meet Edie formally. He was the boy's other father after all. So Erik scooted off the couch, taking Edie by the hand as well and leading him over to Charles. The younger man looked up in confusion as the two of them approached. But said nothing as Erik positioned Edie in front of his other father and stood on the edge between them. Erik cleared his throat softly before speaking.

"Charles Xavier, I'd like you to meet your son, Edie Charles Lehnsherr."

"You named him after me?"

"And my own mother, it was only fair that I gave him your name, considering I gave him my last name." Erik explained, as the young boy smiled up at Charles. The Telepath wasted no time beckoning the child forwards and wrapping him in a hug. The shaking man clung to the Empath as if the child was the only thing anchoring him to the floor of the plane. Edie sent waves of calming and comforting feelings towards the man, but Charles just hugged him tighter and Edie could feel the man's tears wetting his shirt. When the Telepath finally raised his head, there was crushing sadness emanating from the man.

"I left you and your father alone for so long. Nothing can make up for that. But can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know." Edie whispered as he tore his eyes away from Charles. For some reason, it hurt him to think that Charles felt bad. Especially when his other father didn't deserve it. When the Telepath finally let go of his son, the child went to go stand by Erik and smiled at his Abba. The Empath searched through the stock pile of memories he had from his Abba, trying to find the ones where he was the most happy. Every time he came across one, it usually involved his fathers being together and doing something together. Just like when they would play chess together. So Edie grabbed his Abba's arm and motioned towards the chess-set across the plane. The metal-wielder seemed confused for a moment, before he realized what Edie was trying to convey. Erik smiled and leaned down slightly to gently muss his son's hair, before moving forwards to begin setting up the chess pieces.

Edie watched intently as his Abba set the chess-set down in front of Charles. He didn't listen too intently to the words that passed between both of them. But at least they were talking to each other again. That made it okay in Edie's book. From the little he allowed himself to hear of the conversation, they were talking about a girl named Raven. The same person Charles had thought had been Edie's mother, when they had first met. They both seemed to love her very much. Edie had to block their emotions to the best of his ability because the feelings between them were painfully stifling. He was focusing so hard on trying to block that he jumped when he felt the warm presence of Logan's hand on his shoulder. The clawed man wasn't smiling, there was no semblance of warmth or gentleness in his gaze, but he could feel the warmth and protectiveness that emanated from the man. But he surely wasn't expecting for the man to scoop him over one shoulder and march to the front of the plane. Erik opened his mouth to tell the man to put his boy down, but Logan just plopped the child into the copilot seat at the front of the plane. The child's eyes widened as he saw the spread of stars that pressed upon him from every side.

Hank smiled when he saw the amazed look on the child's face. The genius expected the child to ignore him and just study the expanse of stars that shone across the sky. But inside the ten year old turned to him and gently tugged him on the arm. Hank turned to the boy in confusion, and Edie smiled at him. Then pointed to a constellation in the sky that he didn't know the name of.

"Dr. McCoy, what's the name of that one?"

"It's Hank. Do you mean Perseus? The one that looks like a stick with legs?" Hank asked and the boy nodded. Hank almost laughed when he saw the little boy trace the constellation in question with his pointer finger. It was what prompted the older mutant to speak again. "Do you want to be an astronomer when you grow up?" The boy's smile stretched even wider when Hank said that and the boy nodded vehemently. Something that had the little boy nearly falling out of the copilot seat. Hank did laugh that time and instead of being offended, the little boy grinned even wider than before and made a funny face so Hank would laugh again. It wasn't long before the ten year old fell asleep, curled up in the copilot's chair. Hank shrugged off his jacket with the hand that wasn't securing the steering bars of the plane and draped it over Edie, so he wouldn't get cold. He could see why the boy meant so much to Erik and already so much to Charles.

**_-TimeSkip-_**

Edie clung to Charles' arm like a vice, as Logan drove them up to the back of an intimidating Paris building in a white car that didn't belong to any of them. There were metal gates blocking the entrance and guards in black that had been guarding the gates. Before the guards could do anything to stop them, Edie's Abba used his powers to elevate the sides of the gate in an open position. Edie could feel the alarm and fear emanating from the guards and he hoped that Erik wouldn't harm them. He didn't think he could tolerate the feeling of them dying. He didn't want to hurt anybody, he never ever wanted to hurt anybody. Once Logan pulled them into the parking area of the building, Edie was hustled out of the car along with Charles and Hank, they had been sitting with him in the back. Erik took Edie's small hand in his as they hurried into the building, they had next to no time to lose. Edie could feel the worry and apprehension admitting from everybody in their group. Sometimes he really hated being an Empath.

The ten year old was tugged down the hallway as fast as possible, his bare feet slapping against the ground loudly as they turned around and began bounding up the stairs. It was on the second or third time that Edie had nearly fallen on his face, when Logan scooped him up and over one shoulder. Before Edie could do anything to protest, he simply whimpered. There was a sudden burst of emotion from a room upstairs, it was a motley of pain, terror, hate and confusion. The young Empath instantly threw back up his shield, he had to get away from the heavy emotions that clouded his judgement and yet he was only getting closer. For that was exactly the room that they had to get too. The moment that they got upstairs and ran around the corner, Charles was speaking in a harried tone.

"Raven?"

Edie had to muffle his gasp with his hands as he spotted the naked, blue-skinned woman with orange hair as she crouched on the wooden meeting table. Logan gently rested Edie back on the ground and Hank wrapped a hand around the boy's shoulders, instantly protective of the child. Just as Raven looked up at them, one of the men pointing weapons at her, surged forwards and tendrils of his taser wrapped around the girl. She writhed and screamed in pain, tears bubbling in her eyes as she wailed. Charles hurried to run and kneel next to the blue-skinned girl as Erik waved his hand and the taser wires attached to the man who had shot them at her. The man began to seize on the floor as Edie hurried towards the girl on the table. She was wracked with pain but was smiling up at Charles as he gently stroked his fingers through her hair. She whimpered out his name and a sad smile spread on Charles' face as he tried to assure her.

"It's me, Raven. We've come to get you, Erik and I."

But Edie completely ignored his other father as he knelt beside the woman who was supposed to be his Aunt. Confusion spread over her features as she looked at him, not recognizing the boy, but recognizing him all the same. She looked at Charles for an answer, but soundlessly compared the two of them before whimpering out a confused question. "Charles, he's you. He looks just like you did when we were kids." Charles instinctively wrapped his arm around Edie's shoulders, bringing him ever closer to Raven as he did so. The Telepath smiled as she looked from Raven to Edie before he whispered in a semi-broken tone, as if the wound that Edie's presence had reopened was still painfully fresh. "He's my son, Raven." The look that spread across Raven's face was both amazement and betrayal, but before she could say anything else, Edie was talking and slowly raising his fingers to Raven's temples.

"You don't know me, Miss Raven. But my name's Edie and I'm going to take away your pain, okay?"

The blue-skinned girl just nodded, eyes wide as Edie focused and whimpered deeply as he swallowed up Raven's pain and returned it to his own body. The pain was all consuming and wracked his small body as he refused to remove his fingers from Raven's temples. He was so consumed with his Aunt's pain that he didn't notice when his Abba picked up a gun and pointed it at both Edie and Raven, until Charles spoke in a broken and horrified voice. "Erik what are you doing?" Edie looked up to see a sight that he thought he'd never see, his Abba pointing a gun at his head. The child was horrified as he ripped his fingers away from Ravens temples and used them to shield her face, shaking and whimpering as he did so.

"I'm securing our future, Charles. The future of myself and our child. Forgive me Mystique, but as long as you're out there, we can never be safe. Get out of the way, Edie. This is really the only way."

"I'm not moving, Abba." Edie growled, moving to stand up by himself, and sticking his arms out to protect Charles and Raven. It felt like his heart was being twisted around and destroyed in his chest cavity. He loved his Abba, he loved his Abba more than his heart would allow, but he would not allow anybody to hurt his family. Raven and Charles were now part of his family, they were just innocents. Perfect and total innocents. Erik looked like his own heart was breaking as the hand that was holding the gun was shaking. Raven instantly stood up and began to run as fast as she could, towards the windows. Erik lifted his gun even higher than Edie and a shot rang out, speedy and sure. Edie remembered screaming, he remembered diving after the bullet. He even remembered the feeling of digging a power out of his chest a power that he hadn't used in a long time. Powerful Empaths have the ability to look into another mutant's mind and pick out the emotion that triggers their power to harness it for themselves. A kind of Empathic Mimicry. That was what happened when Edie threw out his hands and stopped the metal bullet in midair, before it hurt Raven. Allowing her to make a swift escape.

He never wanted to hurt anybody. Charles, Erik and Hank were staring at him wide-eyed in horror. Logan was staring at the ceiling and gasping, as if seeing something that the rest of them couldn't see. Erik and Charles both screamed as Edie's hands shook. He couldn't hold the bullet for much longer, he wasn't his father. He couldn't mimic his Abba's power for very long. Hank turned away as Edie let go. He heard the child's wet gasp and the sound of a metal bullet entering flesh. Tears prickled in the mutant's eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**_"Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors." _**

**_― Andrew Boyd_**

No...God...no.

Erik Lehnsherr had brought Edie into the world, he had nursed the child, read to him, loved him and raised him to be good. He had promised himself that he would never let anything harm his little boy. But history, it was repeating itself as Erik lunged forwards trying to stop the bullet. But he was too late. He was always too late. Too late to save Charles. Too late to save his mother. And now, he was too late to save Edie. The bullet was about to rip through the boy's stomach, but Erik threw his hands forwards to curve it. It ended up ripping a deep, long scour through the outside of the child's right thigh. The boy screamed, it was an unholy sound that nearly made Erik's eardrums bleed, as he knelt beside Edie. He tore off his shirt and started pressing it to the fiercely bleeding wound. His son's face was white as a sheet and he seemed to be almost seizing as he shook from the pain. Edie had no words to speak, the pain was all encompassing, it felt as if a hole had opened up beneath him and was swallowing him up one piece at a time. Charles' hands covered Erik's as the pair of them tried to stop the flow of their child's blood and it seemed to be working. Erik tried to apologize to his son, to explain that his actions had been for the little boy's benefit. But the words wouldn't come. Erik was too afraid to let them come. He didn't want to see the inevitable look of disgust and rejection on Edie's bone-white face. He didn't think he could bear to lose another person he loved.

Erik's hands slowly pulled away from the mound of blood stained fabric on Edie's leg as he looked down at his own hands. They were dark and tacky with his son's blood. The metal-controlling mutant, clenched his bloody fists and brought them up to his face. Charles whipped his head around to look viciously at the older man. Then his gaze softened as he saw the horrified look on Erik's face. The Telepath couldn't even imagine the pain that Erik was feeling at that moment, his own son had betrayed him. Instead of siding with Erik, with everything that he'd been taught since the day he was born, Edie had chosen to protect Charles and Raven. He had chosen them over Erik.

The German man began to back up slowly, but had nowhere to run too. Hank was fighting with Logan, the genius had transformed into his blue form and the clawed man seemed to have had a loss of consciousness. He forgot who they were for a moment and after Edie had been shot, Hank had wanted to make them into less of a target. The man called Trask was staring up at them from his place, sprawled on the floor like a helpless child. It wasn't long before the short man was staggering out of the room to make as swift an escape as possible. Nobody bothered to stop him and Erik was still staring at his son in horror. The metal-wielder's eyes flicked towards the open doorway and Charles knew what he was going to do, just seconds before he did them. The Telepath's hand shot out to catch Erik by the wrist. The older mutant turned to him in confusion. By holding onto him, Charles was smearing more of Edie's blood on Erik's arm.

The young child that lay on the floor beneath them was pale, far too pale, and his eyes were glazed over and at half-mast. The wound itself wasn't dire, but Edie was so small and he'd already lost such a great amount of blood. Charles feared for the boy's life, especially as Hank, their makeshift medic, was trying to fight Logan off long enough for the mutant to regain his memory of them. Erik tried to shake Charles' hand off of his wrist, but it became clear that the Telepath wasn't going to let go of him anytime soon. Erik was trying to make a quick escape, to leave Edie alone and hurt. Charles knew from experience that waking up to such a feeling wasn't pleasant. That was why he had snapped out his hand to stop Erik from leaving. Edie loved Erik more than the metal-controlling mutant could comprehend. Charles knew that Edie would forgive Erik for what had transpired, but to abandon him while he was scared and in pain? That was another story all together and yet Erik thought it was necessary. All his life, people had viewed him as a monster, Erik couldn't stand the thought of his own son confirming that belief. Still, Charles' voice stopped him. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either. It was strong and full of certainty.

"Erik, so help me God, if you leave right now...if you hurt this little boy like I know you're going too...you will no longer be considered his father. He loves you, Erik. For some godforsaken reason, this child loves you. Do not hurt him."

Erik just gaped at the usually mild-mannered Telepath before him. This Charles certainly wasn't the same Charles that Erik had left on the beach that day. The metal-wielder would've have been lying if he said that he wasn't afraid of what Edie might become. But when the older mutant looked into Charles' eyes and into the pallid, unconscious face of his child, Erik could only see one outcome in his future. He loved Edie. He loved the child too much to hurt him. But he also loved the child too much to put him in harm's way. That was why he gripped Charles hard by the elbow and made the Telepath look him straight in his tear-stained eyes.

"I love him. I'm doing this because I love him, Charles. Please, protect our son."

Charles began to swear fluently as the metal-wielder released him and he had to press both hands back on the fiercely weeping wound on Edie's leg. Erik turned away, fully prepared to make his exit, until he was impeded again. This time, by a small bone-white hand that weakly clung to his pant-leg. The German man sighed brokenly as he turned around to see Edie's eyes, wide open and trying desperately to focus on the blurry and distorted figure that was his Abba. The child was crying and that only blurred his vision all the further as he spoke in a weary and child-like voice. Now, Charles couldn't speak German. It was true that he learned a few words from Erik, but that was it. Still, when Edie spoke in German. even without knowing the language, Charles understood every word and the heartfelt emotion that came along with it.

"Lass mich nie allein, Abba."

The words were clear enough, even to the causal observer. '_Please don't leave me alone, Abba._' But it was clear that when Edie said them, shaking and pale from blood-loss and very near to losing consciousness again, that part of Erik just broke. Erik was hurting yet another person that he loved, Edie really did take after his namesake in that aspect. Still, Erik bent down and gently pried his ten year old's hand from his own pant leg. He pressed a kiss to it softly before laying it back down next to Edie's side. The voice that Erik spoke in, was just as painful as Edie's. "Es tut mir leid, Bärchen. Ich liebe dich." '_I'm sorry, I love you_.' Those words were painfully clear as well. As Erik walked out of the room and Edie began to shake, tears coursing down his cheeks. Hank was at his side in an instant, Logan was beginning to come to his senses as Hank's blue fur melted back into his humanoid form. The genius mutant tied the bloody mound of cloth around Edie's leg wound, with a sympathetic hiss of pain in the boy's direction.

"Charles, we need to get him back to the school. I have medical equipment there and on the plane, we have to hurry."

It was Logan though, who walked over and gently scooped the bleeding child into his arms. Once again cursing the walking monster that was Erik. The monster had hurt yet another person and this time it was his son, a boy no more than a child. Edie passed out again to the sound of blood rushing in his ears and a sharply aching pain in his thigh.

**_-TimeSkip-_**

The next time the child came too, he was lying on a couch in the plane. Hank was an inch deep in the boy's thigh as he tried to clean out the wound before suturing it closed. The little boy was whimpering silently, tasting blood in his mouth as he bit into his bottom lip viciously. Edie was using all the willpower he could, to shield his mind from those around him. It wasn't as if he was afraid of receiving their emotions, he was afraid that they would receive his. He didn't want to project the pain he was feeling onto others. That was just wrong and he didn't like seeing people suffer. It was one of the more horrible things of being an Empath, an inability to see or sense people experiencing extreme pain or fear. He never wanted to hurt anybody. But by not hurting Raven and Charles, he'd hurt his Abba. Edie wished for all the world that he hadn't been born. Then things would've been different. Then he wouldn't have kept inflicting pain on the person he loved most in the world. The child grit his teeth and a few stubborn tears escaped the tight clench on his eyelids. They slid down his face unheeded, until they were swept away gently and Edie felt a gently hand carding through his tangled hair.

The fingers were soft and warm as they mussed up his hair. They took his mind off the pain in his leg and in his heart. He could hear a soft voice too, a gentle humming that relieved the tense posture of his back and shoulders. Edie knew that the voice and hand didn't belong to his Abba, that they belonged to Charles, but he wanted to pretend for a moment that he hadn't ruined his relationship with his Abba. He wanted to pretend, while he was tired and wracked with pain, that his Abba still loved him. He hadn't known then, what he had come to know much later, he hadn't understood just how much a father could love his child.

"Edie, I am so very sorry."

Charles whispered and Edie remained silent, he knew that he was supposed to smile and say something to alleviate Charles' own personal pain, but he couldn't. The words just wouldn't come. Charles, instead of being upset, simply leaned closer and wrapped his arms loosely around the child. The poor little boy was shaking like a leaf in the wind and the Telepath could see the tears trickling down the little boy's face. Edie was more like Erik than he would ever know. Charles himself was wracked with guilt. He had left his child alone for so many years and then Erik had just done the very same thing. The little boy in front of him had nobody left. All because he wanted to protect Charles and Raven. It made the Telepath pity the little boy, but also love him for all the times that he wasn't able too. When Edie lost consciousness again, it was Charles' hand that he was holding and Hank who was stitching up the gouge in his leg.

**_-TimeSkip-_**

It was lucky that Charles wasn't the one who carried Edie into the school, because the moment they entered, he practically collapsed to his knees. He was tearing at his ears, ripping at his hair and desperately whimpering at Hank. The mutant genius gently rested a now awake Edie on a chair as Wolverine lifted up a screaming Charles and deposited him next to Edie. The ten year old's eyes were wide as he threw up his shield again. For a moment he was worried that he was projecting his pain onto Charles, but that fear was put to rest when Hank explained that the Telepath needed his treatment. Without it, he could hear the thoughts of others again and they were pressing on him from all sides. Charles was breaking down again and Edie looked terrified. Logan was yelling, he was trying to get the Telepath to look at him, but Charles was cracking. Edie could see them, he could see the jagged fissures that erupted across Charles' shielded mind. He could see what Logan and Hank could not. Edie was watching as he lost another person he loved.

"Look Charles, I'm still here. She's still out there. We need your help, Charles. But not like this, we need you. We can't find Raven, not without your powers."

Logan tried to assure the Telepath, but it wasn't working. Charles was hurriedly rolling up his sleeve. He needed to repair them, he needed to repair that cracks that were growing larger with every passing minute. When Hank arrived then, with a serum filled needle in hand, Charles observed it for a moment. He stared at the sickeningly colored yellow serum as it bubbled up from the needle. The Telepath wasted no time, getting it into position, preparing to inject to into his flesh. Edie furrowed his eyebrows in anger and he shoved himself upwards into a standing position with a hoarse cry of pain. He staggered only two steps, feeling like he was walking on hot coals, as he reached out a tentative hand and rested it on the needle and Charles' hand. The Telepath looked desperately into the eyes of his Empath son, as if seeking some confirmation that the action he was taking was alright. Finally, with tremendous effort, the needle slipped from Charles' hand and clattered onto the floor beneath them. Both father and son were silent for a moment before Charles looked away to look at Hank.

"Hank, would you do me a favor and help me to my study, please?"

The scientist surged forwards to wrap one of Charles' arms around his neck and wrap one of his own around the other man's waist. They both hobbled up the stairs in such a fashion as Logan hurried forwards to scoop a pained Edie into his arms and follow them. The needle was left abandoned on the floor. Once they all arrived at the study, Hank opened the door to a supply closet and they all looked inside with varying emotions on their faces. Hank spoke to Charles in a frightened voice. "Professor, are you sure about this?" When Charles answered him, he was speaking with complete and total honesty.

"Not in the slightest."

The Telepath answered as they all stared at the sliver, electric wheelchair that sat abandoned and covered with dust in the supply closet. Edie was proud as he looked at the unwavering determination on Charles' face. It was ultimately Hank who yanked the wheelchair from it's closet grave and settled the Telepath within its confines. Charles was terrified, Edie could feel that even with his shield in place. But there was also an underlying excitement that emanated from the man. Once Charles was situated in his chair, Logan walked forwards and deposited Edie in Charles' lap. When both Xaviers looked at him in confusion, the clawed man just shrugged.

"Might as well kill two birds with one stone."

That prompted a smile from both Charles and Edie as the small boy leaned into the comfortable warmth of his father, but still couldn't relieve the ache in his heart from the lack of the other. He really missed his Abba. But he still stared in amazement and wonder as the back wall of Charles' study opened up to reveal a secret doorway. It revealed a long metal hallways, curbed at the end by a circular door with a large 'X' carved into it. The farther they got down the hallway, the more frightened Charles seemed. He was tense and it was making Edie uneasy. When Logan asked how long it had been since Hank and Charles had been down there. The Professor said that it had been a true lifetime ago. Once they reached the door, a blue light was shined in Charles' eyes and the ends curved into a jagged 'X' across the top part of his face. A metallic woman's voice met their ears as it welcomed the Professor. The doors slowly slid open to reveal something that Edie had only seen in the confines of his Abba's memories.

Cerebro.


	5. Chapter 5

**_"No one would be foolish enough to choose war over peace - in peace sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons." ~Croesus of Lydia_**

Cerebro was amazing.

It was a large circular room and it made the little boy feel that he was moving about inside the earth's very core. It was far from what his Abba had remembered it being. In the blurry memories of Edie's first father, there had been scenes of Charles standing on a platform with a strange wire-filled helmet on his head. The ten year old had seen the smile on younger Charles' face and he had felt the smile on his Abba's. They had both been amazed that the machine had worked, it had brought forth a shaky laugh from a younger Charles and a feeling of worry from a younger Erik. But the machine that Edie saw before him, didn't resemble his Abba's memories in the slightest. That machine had been rudimentary, this Cerebro was frightening to say the least. Edie clung tight to Charles as the man's wheelchair neared ever closer to the end of the cat-walk and to the helmet that would broadcast his telepathy. The lights on either side of the cat-walk came to life in a heartbeat, echoing their own trek as they ventured farther inside. Once the reached the helmet, Hank leaned forwards to twist one of the dials on the spread of buttons and knobs before them. He reminded Charles that Raven would be moving fast, trying to get as far away from Erik as possible.

But the Telepath didn't seem to be listening, Edie felt the man's upper body tense and the feelings of fear and sadness that ebbed from him. As Charles reached out with shaking hands to grasp the helmet before him and raise it to his head. But before placing it on his head, the Telepath gently blew on the dust covered surface of the headgear. The dust clouded that puffed into the air was symbolic of a different time, a time before Edie had been born, a time where Charles and Erik had been together and happy. In nearly all the treasured memories that Edie had seen in his Abba's mind, Erik had been smiling and laughing, Charles had been doing the very same. But now, Edie had yet to see those very things with his own eyes. There was a laugh that Erik only used when he was around Charles and then there was that smile, gentle and loving, that Charles had only used for Erik and Erik alone. Edie had seen those things in his Abba's mind, but he wanted to see them with his own eyes. He wanted to see both of his fathers happy again. The Empath was spurned from his thoughts when he heard Charles speak, his voice wavering and unsteady.

"These are muscles that I haven't stretched in a long time."

Edie closed his eyes as Charles placed the headgear on his head, the man instantly tensed. Charles' eyes widened substantially and he took in a deep breath that he held onto as his mind projected the images around them. Edie had to grit his teeth and throw his hands over his ears. Everything was an angry red color, he could hear women sobbing, children crying. He could feel the pain and the agony of war, all around them. The ten year old was practically choking on it as Charles screamed in pain. The Telepath couldn't focus, everything was bleeding red, it was shining through Edie's eyelids. The images began to spin sickeningly, they could clearly hear the thoughts of dying men. Edie wanted to scream, but he didn't want to ruin whatever level of control that Charles had. Finally the Telepath screeched with all his might and the dials and twists that littered Cerebro's front panel began to burst and break, contorting and twisting in on themselves. Edie's scream joined Charles' as the images around them disappeared and the Telepath ripped the helmet off of his head. Hank hurried off to check the generator as Logan tried to calm Charles. The clawed man whispered in a voice that made Charles tense even more.

"It's not the machinery...is it?"

"No...I can't do this...my mind...I..."

Charles whimpered and clutched at his head, running his hands through his unkempt and scraggly locks. Edie stared at his other father, sadness shining in his eyes. Charles was so broken. And Edie didn't know if he could do anything to fix him. Logan tried to reassure the younger man, tried to tell him that it would be fine. "Yes you can, you're just a little bit rusty." Charles looked at the clawed man like he'd just developed a second head, Edie could understand why Logan said what he did. He didn't understand the state the Charles' mind was in, he couldn't see the cracks and fissures that littered it's surface undeniably. The Telepath was ripping at his hair, curling it in shaking and breaking fingers. His voice was cracking as he wailed at the other man.

"You don't understand! It's not a question of being rusty! I can flip the switches...I can turn the knobs, but my power, it comes from here!" The Telepath reached up to touch a clenched fist to the side of his head. "And here..." He motioned to his chest, to his heart. "And...it's broken." Charles hung his head, hair falling and getting stuck in his tear-filled eyes. The man hurriedly turned his wheelchair around, whimpering as he cried, tears falling from his eyes at a rate in which he couldn't control. He loved Erik, he loved the metal-wielder so much that it hurt. But Erik, he'd abandoned him yet again and this time he hadn't only abandoned Charles, he'd abandoned their son as well. The metal-bender had once again broken Charles' heart into tiny unfixable pieces. He should have learned from the first time he should have listened to his already scarred and broken heart. It was a mistake, everything was one big mounting mistake and he screamed such at Logan. The clawed man staring at him silently.

"It was a mistake coming down here! It was a mistake freeing Erik! This whole thing has been one bloody mistake after the next!"

"...Am I a mistake too...?"

Charles broke off in his rant when he heard the small hurt voice coming from in his lap. Guilt practically oozed from the Telepath as he sighed and looked down to see a pair of wide electric blue eyes staring back up at him, tears bubbling in them. He had implied that...hadn't he? The Telepath wanted to throw himself off the cat-walk as he realized what he'd implied about the child in his lap. He'd implied that finding out about Edie was a mistake, that freeing his son was a mistake. Before Charles could do anything to explain himself or the terrible things he'd implied, the little boy was already pushing himself up and off the lap of Charles' wheelchair. The brown haired man caught the boy gently by the arm and spoke in a gentle but regretful and chastising voice.

"Come now, don't do that. You'll tear your stitches. I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

But the little boy just shrugged off Charles' hand and began limping heavily towards the front of the cat-walk and the helmet that his father had abandoned. At that moment, Charles saw the determination in his son's stride, he saw the power and stubbornness. He saw Erik in the little boy and he saw the very best of himself. The child grit his teeth and tried to keep from sobbing in pain as blood trickled down the side of his leg. It was buttery and hot as it stained the already unsalvageable pants he was wearing. But Edie ignored all of that, he merely wrapped his small hands around the corners of the helmet and turned around painfully when he heard the sound of Hank's footfalls returning. The sometimes-blue mutant took one look at Edie and an expression of concern and worry appeared on his features. He saw the blood and tried to hurry to aid the child, but was stilled by Logan's hand on his shoulder. The child spoke them, in a strained voice as he tried to keep his mental shield up to the best of his ability.

"Hank? What I know about Cerebro is that it allows those with psychic abilities to find people or objects by Psychic Navigation. Am I right?"

Hank nodded but still looked confused. Then his eyes widened with comprehension. Edie was an Empath, he would have the same psychic ability as Charles to find people, just by emotions instead of thoughts. But then he looked at the blood pooling at the boy's feet and the hollowed and pained look in his eyes. What if the machine hurt the little boy even further? The mutant called Beast, yanked his arm out of Logan grasp. He couldn't allow Edie to come to harm, the little boy made him feel a warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time. The child saw Hank approaching and instead of backing away, the child slammed the helmet down on his own head. It was loose and didn't fit correctly on him but it worked anyway, the little boy threw his eyes open wide and images appeared all around them.

While Charles' vision with Cerebro had been covered with red and pain, the images coming from Edie were a remarkable mismatch of colors. There were otherworldly shades of purples, reds, oranges, blues and greens. Then there was gray color that surrounded all of the others. Each person that flew past them, was a motley of colors. Some were darker while others were lighter. Children had brighter colors than adults. Adults had more gray mixed in than children did. The colorful people passed by so quickly that it was hard to get a read on who was who. Until the colors stopped rotating and they were left staring at four figures in the sea of gray. The one standing next to the one in the wheelchair was a mix of red, gray and green. The figure in the wheelchair was a mix of red, blue and in the center of his chest was a wide circle of gray. The third figure was a mix of pink, blue, yellow and orange. Not a speck of gray on his main color-scheme, he was just outlined in it. But the smallest figure had no color. It was completely gray, not definition, no color. It was absolutely blank. It was in stark contrast to the people around it and it was Hank who finally asked the question that they were all wondering.

"What does gray mean?"

"Pain and suffering."

Edie whispered and looked confused himself as he stared at the figure with no color. It was clearly him, it was even wearing Cerebro's helmet. But the absence of true color perturbed him. Gray was the very definition of a color without color. Did that mean he was always suffering? Empathy was so confusing! Edie turned around slowly to see the pained look on Charles' face. The Telepath looked horrified at not only his son's gray, but his own. The man clutched at his long hair as he yelled. His voice was crackling and snapping as he yanked at his hair again. "Dammit...why?! Everything's covered in pain and suffering! I don't want to feel other's pain, I don't want their suffering!" Charles wailed and Edie yanked the helmet from his head. The images around them ebbed away as Edie limped towards Charles again, leaving a bloody trail in his wake. Hank tried to stop him, but the stubborn little boy wouldn't stop until he reached his other father and gripped the man's face tight with both calloused hands, forcing the Telepath to look his Empath son in the eyes that they both shared.

"It's not other people's pain you're afraid of, Charles. It's your own. No matter how terrible pain may be, if you feel it...it will make you stronger. You have to learn to hold it, to be able to feel other's pain without being consumed by it. You need to be able to be part of it without losing who you are in the process. You can never be afraid. Or it will destroy you, it will eat you from the inside out. Never be afraid of pain. Be afraid of not feeling pain. Please. You need to try again. Avoiding something you fear, will never bring you peace."

Edie whispered, tears coursing down his own cheeks. Charles reached his arms out and pulled his son into a hug. The child had experienced more pain in his life than any of them. He'd had to bear the pain of others since the very day in which he was born. When Edie said what he did, Charles thought of the very words he had said to Erik that day so long ago. _'Killing Shaw will not bring you peace.' _Now he was making the same mistake by choosing not to feel his own pain. Charles stared at the boy in his arms and he felt the urge to feel the child's mind, so he did. What he saw, was not what he expected. He thought he would see peaceful thoughts, advice from a child wise beyond his years. Instead, he saw the mind of a child missing his Abba. The mind of the ten year old child he was and was always supposed to be. Charles swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from his crying child to look at Hank and then at the little boy who was creating a puddle of blood around them. The mutant genius got the message within moments and hurried forwards to take the pale child into his arms as Charles wheeled forwards to try Cerebro again.

"New stitches then, Edie?"

The ten year old in Hank's arms gave a weak smile and a soft nod as the glasses-wearing mutant carried him out of the metallic hallway and back into Charles' study. The man was painfully gentle as he set a bleeding Edie down on the couch and helped him shimmy out of his pants so that he could repair the boy's stitches and place a new dressing on the wound. Hank furrowed his brow in concentration as he focused on gently threading the new sutures through the gouge in the boy's thigh. Edie himself was gritting his teeth and trying to focus on the ceiling as Hank tried to sew him back together. The older mutant was grumbling to himself the entire time. Finally he looked up and mock scowled at Edie. "I can't believe you managed to tear open every one of your stitches." Hank growled, his eyes flashing bluer than normal. From what Edie knew from his Abba's memories, Hank's eyes used to be brown. But Edie just grinned at him.

"What can I say...I'm just gifted."

The conversation dropped off after that, with both mutants just mock scowling at each other in a friendly way. Until Edie spoke again, nearly startling Hank out of his human form. In fact the mutant was so surprised that he ended up stabbing himself in the thumb with the needle that he was using to sew up Edie's leg. The mutant winced and sucked lightly on his finger, but then was taken aback by what the young boy had said to him.

"You know, I like it better when you're blue."

It really was no wonder that Hank had stabbed himself in the thumb after that. Seriously, what kind of kid says things like that? Usually children Edie's age would be utterly terrified of him in his blue form. That was why Hank had been afraid to turn blue around Edie in the first place. But then to find out that the little kid liked it better than Hank's original form? Such a weird kid. But then again, Edie was the son of two very powerful mutant men and was raised around all Erik's mutant brotherhood ideals. Maybe he just wanted Hank to be true to his 'mutant-self'. Either way, the scientist in Hank was curious and so he just had to ask. "Why do you say that? And please don't give me some 'mutant-pride' speech that Erik taught you." Hank grumped and Edie just looked at him in confusion.

"I said it because blue's my favorite color and it looks groovy on you. At least better than 'super-nerd' does."

Hank couldn't help the smile that sprung to his lips at the little boy's answer and the blush that spread across his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He finished dressing the boy's wound before he answered, standing up to make a funny pose along with it. "You don't like me as 'super-nerd'? I think it suits me quite nicely." Hank made a funny masculine pose along with it, something that left Edie laughing hysterically. The little boy had a cute laugh. He would snort quite loudly, something that only made Hank want to laugh with him as he helped the child into a spare pair of pants. But their bantering was cut short by Logan and Charles entering the study. Their faces were grim and that prompted the smiles of both Hank and Edie's faces to fade. It was Charles who spoke though. Something that made Hank's stomach sink to his knees.

"Raven's heading to Washington DC. She still plans to kill Trask."


	6. Chapter 6

**_"There is an old Jewish story, an ordinary Jewish joke. A father was teaching his little son to be less afraid and have more courage. "Jump," he said, "...and I will catch you." And the little boy trusted him and the little boy jumped. And when his father caught him he felt filled with love. And when he didn't, he was filled with something else…something more. Life."_**

**_— Elinor Lipman _**

Once Logan and Charles had returned with their revelation of where Raven was going, Hank gently picked up Edie again, moving forwards to rest him in Charles' lap once more. The young Empath leaned back into the comforting warmth that was Charles, bringing forth a small smile to the Telepath's lips, a smile that soon faded as Hank led them to his own private quarters. Where he'd set up a live video-feed, trying to catch any news about what was happening around them. After what had happened in Paris, they had all wanted to keep a sharp eye on Trask. Hank flipped a few of the switches and dials, before a newscaster appeared on the screen nearest to them. The male newscaster was saying that the current president was to make a speech outside of the White House, the leader of the country would be joined by his secretary of defense and renowned scientist, Bolivar Trask. It dawned in all their minds then, what Raven was planning to do. She was going to kill Trask in front of everybody at that event and the whole world that was watching. Raven was going to start a war without even realizing and Logan would have come to save them for nothing. Raven was going to kill them all, by only killing a single man.

Edie whimpered and buried his face in Charles' shoulder. If he'd just let his Abba kill Raven in Paris, then they wouldn't be putting all of mutant-kind at risk. If Raven started the war that she was fated to start, it would be all Edie's fault. Goodness, why did he keep messing everything up? He knew that Charles hadn't meant it when he'd implied that Edie was a mistake, but the ten year old couldn't help thinking that the Telepath had been right all along, maybe Edie was a mistake. It was mere minutes later that Hank finally broke the silence that hung around them like a dark cloud, but what he said did not alleviate the shrouded bleakness around them. In fact, he only worsened it.

"There's a theory in quantum physics, that time is immutable. It's like a river, you can throw a pebble in and cause a ripple...but the current will always correct itself. No matter what you do, the river just keeps on flowing in the same direction. What I'm trying to say is that maybe the war is inevitable. What if she's meant to kill Trask? What if this is just simply who she is? Who she's meant to be?"

"That's impossible. If what we do is according to that theory, than anything we do is meant to correct itself, right? Then why is Edie here?" Logan snapped, causing everyone in the room to stare at the clawed man in confusion. But Logan knew what he was saying. In his timeline, Edie didn't exist. That was why he'd been so surprised that when they'd broken Erik out of prison and Edie was right there with him. The clawed mutant wasn't sure what had happened to the Edie of his own timeline. Maybe the little boy was meant to die in the womb? What if the child was never supposed to be born? Never supposed to survive? But somehow, Logan's coming had disrupted the child's inevitable death. If the theory that Hank had shared, proved to be true, then Edie was going to die. Just as he had in Logan's timeline. Just as he had been intended too. After Logan's announcement, everyone was clearly confused, but it was the little boy himself that actually posed the question. The child looked at him, baby blue eyes wide and confused.

"What are you talking about, Logan?"

"In my timeline...Kiddo, you don't exist. You were never supposed to survive, but somehow, my coming changed your future."

"But, if what Hank said is true...I'm going to die." Edie whispered softly. Charles tightened his arms reflexively around the little boy in his lap, wanting to say something, to give gentle comforts and murmurs of sweet nothings that he knew the child wouldn't accept. He wanted to tell the little boy that nothing would happen to him, that everything would be alright. But how could he lie to a child who could sense his feelings? Charles felt a wave of comfort and security wash over him, along with the smell of mint tea leaves filling his nostrils. He knew that those feeling weren't his, and that they had come from the boy in his lap with the narrowed eyes and stubborn-set jaw. Oh, Erik. Charles could definitely see Erik in their son's face as he spoke in a voice once again, too wise for his ten years of life.

"Sometimes, people mess up. They get lost or they make a mistake. But just because somebody seems bad, like they've made too many mistakes and they can't turn back time. It doesn't mean that they're bad on the inside, or that they stay bad forever. Sorry, but I don't believe that theory, Hank. And even if it is true, we'd be dumb not to try. Right?"

Logan just blinked at the little boy, the child had just unwittingly said the very thing that the older Charles would've said, back in his own timeline. This younger Charles just smiled at his son and ruffled his hair, and Hank smiled as well. There was a warmth in the young man's eyes that Logan had never seen before, especially not from the Hank McCoy of his own timeline. It perplexed the clawed man, but before he could study it further or say anything about it, Charles spoke in a voice that bridged no argument in the slightest.

"Edie's right. Could you please ready the plane, Hank? We're going to Washington."

-**TimeSkip**-

Edie curled up on his chair across from Charles, his leg hurt and he felt a bit sick to his stomach. His dark hair was falling in his eyes and he was staring out the window. Charles was trying to nurse his hot cup of tea and alternate between sipping said hot beverage and rubbing at the persistent twinges of pain in his legs. At first, when Edie saw the motion, he feared that he was projecting his own pain onto Charles, but that fear was abated when the Telepath began to rub the other leg as well. The little boy rubbed at his eyes and yawned, pressing his face into the soft fabric of the plane seat he was in. He was only partly listening when he heard Logan comment on the way Charles was rubbing his leg. The Telepath gave a well-enough answer and turned to stare out the window or at his young son, curled against the seat. But when Logan spoke again, Edie did pay attention. If only because of the strong, almost crushing emotions that were forced down on him. It made him take a shuddering breath that he was relieved that nobody heard.

"Look Charles, I've told about the bad things that happen in the future. I haven't really dwelled on the good, but there was a lot of good too. You, yourself did so much good for all of us. I know this may be redundant if we don't survive today, but you have to promise me that you'll find us. That you'll find us, you'll guide us and that you'll nurture us. Heaven knows how much we'll need it. Storm...Scott...Jean. Remember those names. Please, Professor."

"I promise that I'll do my best." Charles whispered, he also seemed taken aback by the words that Logan had just expressed. Edie knew that Charles was doubting himself, it was obvious from the expression on his face and feelings that were pouring from the man without any wall to shield them. But Logan just smiled slightly and spoke again in that gravely and grumbly tone of his, "Your best is good enough, trust me." Charles didn't say anything after that. At least not until Edie spoke. The little boy was looking at him with the blue eyes that they both shared, and a small half-hearted smile.

"Charles, promise me that if I do die, you won't turn all depressed again. I need you to find my Abba and take care of him for me. I'm surprised how long he managed to last without me there. Please, I know he might be stubborn, bossy and annoying sometimes. But nobody's perfect and he loves you. He loves you so much and he's so afraid that if he says it, that he'll lose you."

"I promise. But you won't die, Edie. We would never let that happen. Erik would have my head if I did." Charles whispered, but all three of them knew that Charles was assuring himself far more than he was assuring the stubborn little ten year old before him. The fact that Edie had already accepted what was to come, that was much more frightening than anything Charles could do or say.

**_-TimeSkip-_**

Edie was curled up against Charles' chest as he sat in his wheelchair, they'd tried to let the child walk on his own but of course all it would do was tear another good stitching job and force Hank to do it all over again. Hank was pushing them through the metal-detectors at the big event, and of course they went off. But neither of the guards really minded as they were sitting in a metal wheelchair. When the security guard closest to them asked to see their tickets, Charles agreed and brought his fingers to his temple in order to better channel his powers and trick the guard. Logan followed them right out of the detector and almost seemed surprised when they didn't go off. Once they were securely inside, both Charles and Edie began to comb the aisles for Raven. Charles was searching for her mind, Edie was searching for her emotions and yet neither of them could find her. Edie watched with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach as the president appeared and walked up the steps to the head of the podium, only to speak and practically stop the child's heart.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, today we are facing the greatest threat that the world had ever known. Mutants. But we as a whole are prepared for this threat. In the immortal words spoken long ago, 'Our world will never be the same again.'"

The president raised his arm and the large curtain behind him fell away to reveal the Sentinels. Metal creatures that were the most frightening things that Edie had ever seen. Especially because he knew what they would do and what they would ultimately destroy. As soon as the curtain fell away, the national anthem began to play and all the military service members raised their arms in salute. That was when both Edie and Charles sensed Raven at the same time. Charles snagged her and tried to hold her in place as Edie pointed her out to Hank and Logan who bolted towards her. They were so close to fixing it, so close to succeeding. At least they were until the Sentinels began to switch on. The air vents on their stomaches switched down and began to lift them into the air, one by one. Edie stared up a them, horrified, a sentiment shared by Charles as well. That was when he felt it, the Empath could feel his Abba's empathic scent in his mind. Oh God.

Then the child screamed as the Sentinels began to shoot wildly. Throwing bullets in any direction that they could find. Charles bent forwards slightly, trying to protect his son from the on slot of bullets. All the secret service members began to hurry and get the president away as Hank and Logan rushed back towards Edie and Charles. Both of them were staring up at the sky in horror. Mostly at the Sentinels flying up to join a single man in a dark cape. The man that seemed to be holding a metal stadium and himself aloft. It was his Abba and that was only solidified with Charles' scream of, "ERIK!"

"CHARLES!"

"EDIE!"

Hank and Logan both screamed as they ran all the faster, the stadium was going to come down on top of both Edie and Charles if they didn't do something. Neither father nor son had even enough time to curse or scream. Edie ignored the pain in his legs and swung them, trying to get enough momentum to get them far enough away. He toppled the chair over and pulled them as far as he could. Charles got farther than he did, and Edie reached for him. Tears were coursing down his cheeks as he stretched. "Please no, Papa!" The child wailed and Charles' eyes widened. It was the first time that Edie had called him something other than Charles. The Telepath couldn't help the smile that came to his lips as the rubble crashed down on top of them.


	7. Chapter 7

**_"There's something about the flower that grows through the rocks, the pavement; through logs and stone or brick walls... all roses are beautiful; but the rose that emerges unexpectedly through the asphalt has a beauty of soul. The flower that reaches through the brokenness of the wall has a beauty of spirit. You stop to look and not only to look but to cherish! Somewhere along its journey, it decided that it would reach for what was unseen, keep going in the direction of something that wasn't felt, it decided that it would be. That it would become. And it did. And there is something irreplaceable about that." _**

**_― C. JoyBell C._**

It was the metal rigging, still clinging to the sides of the stadium, that hit Edie first and it was probably what saved his life in the end. It prevented most of him from being crushed under the hefty mounds of asphalt and assorted debris that landed on top of him. He had lost sight of Charles and that was all he cared about. He needed to get to his Papa. He didn't feel any pain at first, at least not really. It was more of a growing ache coming from his right leg. He spent the first few minutes, sputtering and coughing at the dust that clogged his throat and made his eyes itch. Then he looked down, which was a mistake all it's own. His torso and arms were mostly unharmed, a few assorted bumps and bruises, but that was it. His left leg was resting on top of a hunk of cement and was colorfully bruised in some places, but was otherwise okay. It was his right leg that was responsible for the pool of blood around him and the rusty tang of it in the air. Or maybe the lack of, because he didn't really have a right leg anymore. His gunshot wound had ripped open again and his right foot was wedged under a heavy piece of concrete and it was twisted sickeningly, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was undoubtably the three bars of metal rigging that had completely ripped through his thigh, even the bone was gruesomely severed. In fact, the only things that were holding the leg onto his body were the pieces of metal rigging and a few strips of sinew and skin. It was no wonder really, that after catching sight of his leg, the little boy turned his head to the side and vomited profusely. Bile and half-digested food pouring from his mouth, past his chapped lips and sore throat from all the coughing.

Meanwhile, Charles had only been partially covered by the debris and due to his position, Hank and Logan managed to get to the Telepath before they got to his son. But before they could finish uncovering Charles or even begin to search for Edie, they had to run themselves. Pieces of rocks and debris, larger than them, were going to kill them if they didn't move. They were raining down from where Erik was settling the stadium, in a huge radius around the White House. Things weren't going to turn out well. Edie may have been sick and bleeding out whilst covered in debris, but he could still feel the familiar rolling of his Abba's emotions as the metal-wielder landed on the grass. Amid the strewn chairs and abandoned curtain, the German man positioned the activated Sentinels on each corner of the stadium. Not even sparing a glance to see if Edie or Charles was somewhere nearby. Didn't he know that he'd basically crushed the both of them? Edie was crying, tears coursing down his cheeks, not only from the pain, but from fear. He never thought he'd be so afraid of his Abba.

The young Empath couldn't stop the strangled cry that came to his lips, when he felt the familiar emotional signatures of Hank and Logan, both had caught the eye of his Abba. No, no, please no! Erik was using his power to search the White House for the metal safe room hidden below, while the Sentinels began to shoot at Hank and Logan. Edie was praying to any God out there that they'd be okay. The robotic monsters attacked Logan first and the clawed man put up an amazing fight. But when the man appeared to be cornered, Hank jumped out and using his powerful jaws, the blue mutant managed to rip open the circuits on the Sentinel's neck. Edie smiled, cheering them in his mind. He didn't know what to do anymore and it was all he could do to try and stop the torrent of blood coming from his leg or at least, what remained of it. As Hank took care of the Sentinels, Logan hurried towards Edie's Abba. The metal-wielder kept throwing pieces of metal debris at the man, none of which stopped him. As the Sentinel that Hank was fighting, ripped the mutant off his neck and threw him into an abandoned police car. Edie winced in sympathy as Logan neared ever closer to Erik. The metal-wielder then lifted a piece of concrete with metal bars running through it. That piece was finally the projectile that made Logan fall. Edie bit his bottom lip and screamed as he felt his Abba move the metal bars from the piece of concrete and weave them through Logan like he was nothing but a meaningless piece of meat. The child screamed again, tears flying down his face and mixing with the dirt and blood already there.

Logan screamed too, as Erik lifted him from the ground and tossed him into the distance like he was a piece of trash. Edie sobbed like a baby, feeling terribly useless and helpless. As his Abba began to rip the president's safe room out of the White House itself. The little boy was speechless as he felt his Abba rip the front of the safe room away to force the men to look at him. He then stole away their guns, so they couldn't fight. Edie just grit his teeth as he heard his father speak, he had pointed all the cameras towards him and was speaking to all the mutants in the world, along with the men he was now holding captive.

"You built these weapons to destroy us. Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts. Because we are different, mankind has always feared what is different. Well, I am here to tell you...to tell the world, you're right to fear us. We are the future, we are the ones who are going to inherit this earth and anyone who stands in our way will experience the same fate as the men you see before you today. Today was meant to be a demonstration of your power, instead I give a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, no more hiding, no more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in fear for far too long, join me. Fight together in a brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow that starts today."

Edie touched his fingers to his temples, he couldn't get up and stop his Abba. He wasn't even sure if he could avoid bleeding to death, while covered in rubble and dust. But he had to do something and he was a mutant. Might as well use his power to do some good. So he projected himself, he thought of all the things that made him who he was. All the feelings that made him Edie Charles Lehnsherr, and he used them to create an illusion of himself. It wasn't as good as a Telepath's would've been. He was flickering and seemed to be unsubstantial. But he was there all the same and he spoke in his own voice, channeling it through the illusion. His Abba stared at him in surprise. He'd never used an Empathic illusion in front of his Abba before, he'd never even used it in the first place. But it was the most he could do.

"Stop this right now! They have every right to fear us if you do this, Abba! Look at them! Do you remember where feigned superiority has gotten us before?! Look at that damned number on your arm and make a connection! You are acting just like them! Look at that helmet, Shaw's helmet! Shaw killed my grandmother, my namesake...your mother! What are you doing? We have no right to kill them, just as they have no right to kill us. Revenge will never bring you peace, Abba. It won't."

Erik seemed almost frozen as he stared at his son, the flickering illusion of him at least. He seemed to have a moment of clarity as he slowly removed the metal helmet from his head. The man suddenly felt disgusted by the headpiece, as if it was covered with blood. He tried to explain his actions, hot tears bubbling in his eyes. He scrubbed them away stubbornly as he scowled at the boy before him. "Edie, can't you see that I'm doing this for you, Bärchen. Everything I've done, it's to make the world a better place for you! It's my duty as your father to protect you, to guide you. How can I do that if I can't even let you outside for the fear that someone will kill you where you stand? I have to do this." The German man whispered as he made to put his helmet back on but was stilled once again by the sound of his son's voice.

"What father wants his son to grow up in a war? We can stop this now Abba, we can just go home and everything will be fine. Come home, Abba. I need you to raise me. You and Papa, I need both of you in my life. I'm not leaving you behind, I'm not making the same mistake that I made last time."

Before either of them could make a move, the Edie illusion was walking forwards and Edie poured all the feeling into it as he could, as it wrapped it's arms around Erik's middle in a tight hug. The German man seemed to be frozen and unmoving, before making a sound like he was choking and gently tried to pry the child's arms away. But they were stone-like and unmoving. Erik kept trying, harder and harder to get them to pull away, but they didn't. Edie wasn't letting go. Erik tried to prompt him, "Let go, Edie." But the child remained silent before speaking in a harried and meaningful tone. It was strong a steady just like his arms that were wrapped around Erik's frame.

"No Abba, I'm never letting go again."

Erik sagged against the illusion of the boy, almost if all the strength had been sapped from his limbs. "Okay." The German man whispered and a smile came to Edie's lips back in the rubble, the smile was mirrored on the face of his illusion. The boy then turned his head, without letting go of his Abba, to look at the crowd of the president and government officials. "Aunt Raven, that invitation extends to you as well. I want to get to know you as a person and not as just a face in my fathers' memories. You can be mutant and proud back at home. Please come back with us. You're better than this. I have faith that you'll do the right thing. My Papa loves you Raven, please." The blue skinned girl slowly changed back and left the confines of the metal box that all the men were gathered in. She slowly walked towards Edie's illusion and Erik, before bending down and gently pressing a kiss to illusion Edie's forehead.

"Not today. But I'll get to know you one day."

She left then and Edie watched her go, both in illusion form and from the rubble. Charles watched too and so did Hank and Erik. Edie then focused his vision on the rest of the government officials in the metal box. The blue eyes of his illusion were ice cold as he spoke. "My name is Edie Charles Lehnsherr and this is my family. You're not dead today because of us. But I leave you with a warning, do not come after us and do not make any weapons in order to kill us. There will be peace or I will hunt you down. I am not my Abba, I will not kill you without reason. But I am also not my Papa, I will neither forgive nor forget." The illusion wheezed before it abated, Edie's strength was waning. He was bone-pale and terribly dizzy. It was only through sheer luck that Hank found him when he did. Edie stared up in the blue mutant's face as Hank's eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. Erik looked confused and Charles, while being beat up and bruised, didn't understand either not until Hank yelled.

"Edie's hurt bad! He's pinned over here!"

Erik's eyes widened and he used his power to lift the metal rigging from off of Charles and his son. Erik caught sight of the boy's wound before Charles did and the man made a sound like a wounded animal. Charles didn't see the boy's wound until Hank carried the child out of the rubble. At that point he yelled a curse and grit his teeth, clenching his eyes closed. "FUCK!" Charles roared and smashed his closed fists against his paralyzed legs. It just wasn't fair.

-**_TimeSkip_**-

When Logan woke up, he woke up in an unfamiliar bed in the school. He was confused and rather bewildered as he exited his room, looking around with large wide eyes. There were kids everywhere, mutant kids. Laughing and running around in the halls, just playing happily with one another. Bobby and Rogue were across the hall, hand in hand, smiling up at one another like teenagers did. Logan just stared at them, amazed. He was spurred from his staring at them, by a familiar voice to his right. "Morning Logan, late start?" It was Hank McCoy, blue fur and all. He was dressed in a tweed suit, books under one arm and what looked like a pink hair clip in his vibrantly colored fur. He was grinning and gave a laugh when he saw the look on Logan's face. The clawed man couldn't help but return the smile. The Beast he'd known, hadn't had little girl's barrettes in his fur, but the man didn't give it much thought as he changed directions and headed down the stairs. That was where he saw a smiling Storm, quickly controlling the traffic in the halls by leading the kids and directing them to their classes. He smiled again. Before getting the surprise of his life when he saw Jean in the doorway of the Professor's office, Scott was with her, but he still smiled. Happy to see them both, but even happier to see the Professor he knew. The bald smiling man in his wheelchair behind his desk who looked up when Logan entered. The clawed man opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a little body running headlong into his leg.

"Uncle Logan! Uncle Logan!"

The little boy squealed, the kid couldn't have been older than three or four and when Logan knelt beside him. The clawed man was shocked to see the vibrant-colored blue hair that the child was sporting, along with the electric blue eyes that he knew belonged to the Professor and Edie only. Before he had time to ask however, the grinning little boy had already bolted out of the office with remarkable super-speed. The Professor mock-scowled as he rolled himself away from his desk.

"Why did you let him get away, Logan? You know how hard it is to catch Jakob when he runs. I hope he doesn't tear up the flower beds again."

The older man mused from his chair, Logan was taken aback to see another blue haired child in the Professor's lap. This time it was a little girl maybe six or seven with long blue hair and the same electric blue eyes. They could only have been siblings. The little girl smiled at Logan when she caught sight of him and gave him a toothy grin before hurrying off after her brother, this time without the speed though. The clawed man just stared at the Professor, before he finally spoke. "Who were they?" Charles looked at him like he'd grown a second head, before rolling closer to the clawed man. "They're my grandchildren, Logan are you alright? Why aren't you teaching? I'm sure you have a class this morning. You didn't have Hank take over for you again did you? You know he's nervous and stressed enough about the new baby, it's not right to add too it."

"The new baby? Teaching? What subject am I supposed to be teaching?!"

"History, of course." Charles shrugged like it was nothing important and Logan gave forth a rue smile. History, well wasn't that ironic. Well, it was ironic that he was teaching anything, but history was more so. He opened his mouth to say just that when a new voice entered the room. It was a soothing baritone and oddly familiar and yet not. Logan turned around to be face to face with a young man. A young man with a strong chin and wide blue eyes, messy dark hair and stubble dotting his chin. But the most shocking thing about the young man was the large curve of his belly and the completely metal right leg he was sporting. Logan didn't know what to say.

"Hey, Papa! Abba and Lorna are trying to make a metal crib for the new baby, do you want to come help me sort it out? Because Peter's running around the room and Wanda's trying to hex him, things are a bit chaotic... Oh hey Logan, you want to help too?"

Finally Logan spoke in a gravely voice that seemed a hundred years older. "Edie?" The young man looked confused, a gently hand going to stroke his rather large stomach. When he nodded in confusion, he was to be even more confused when he was wrapped into a tight hug. Courteous of Logan. "Are you okay, Logan? What's up?" Edie asked and the man just shook his head, laughing in spite of himself. Something that made the room's other two occupants all the more nervous and concerned for his mental health.

"I have no idea. I have no idea about anything that happened after 1973."

Edie's lips formed a perfect 'o' of surprise, something that also appeared on Charles' face. Neither son nor father had any idea what to say until Charles whispered almost reverently, "Welcome back." And that was seconded by Edie's cheeky grin and recklessly happy statement. "Well since you don't remember anything, let me fill you in on how you were the best man at me and Hank's wedding."

"Really? You and Beast?"

"Yup! Me, Beast and our nearly three kids."

Charles just shook his head fondly and followed the pair of them outside his office, sending out his tendrils of consciousness to brush against his own husband's upstairs. Just before Erik tried to throw a hammer at Peter's head.

**Authors Notes-**

**This will become a series on AO3, Archive of Our Own. Check it out sometime. :) **


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